Best and Worst Draft Picks by Teams during the Past Decade -NHL Special Part 7
Colorado Avalanche (Northwest Division)
Success has come in all forms for Colorado Avalanche and over the past decade and beyond, one of the most well known clubs in the National Hockey League (NHL) has groomed some legendary players that made hockey what it is today.
Over the past few seasons, Colorado Avalanche has seen a downfall in terms of performance as they failed to make the playoffs for two seasons straight but eventually are seen to make a comeback soon.
From Joe Sakic to Milan Hejduk, the Avalanche club has been filled with legendary players and even now, there is immense talent on the team for sure.
Best Draft Picks of the Past Decade: Matt Duchene (2009)
What a player Matt Duchene is as he has evolved into an all rounder for Colorado at every level. From being a high flying forward to an extremely physical player, Matt Duchene is capable of playing at any position which is why Colorado Avalanche is grateful
of picking him up as their third overall back in 2009.
In the three seasons he has played thus far, Matt Duchene has worked magic with 150 points (65 goals, 85 assists) in 219 games and is slowly becoming a leading player for the team full of youngsters.
Colorado had another great addition on their club last year as they picked up Gabriel Landeskog as the second overall player behind Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Landeskog was seen to be the most NHL-ready player and definitely proved that point
during the season, outplaying his rookie competition in every department.
Paul Stastny is another amazing player that Colorado secured in 2005 as he is a regular 50-point-plus scoring player and has been for five out of six seasons.
Worst Draft Pick of the Past Decade: Jonas Johansson
Even the eagle eye scouts of the Colorado Avalanche failed to see Jonas Johansson’s failure coming as Colorado used their 28th overall pick on the right wingers back in 2002. The Swedish national played just one career game and that too with the
Washington Capitals.
Colorado continued to work on him over the years after his draft in order to make him a better player but he just kept on failing to make the cut every year when it came down to preseason training.
Johansson has not seen the NHL for the past six years and more and it is not likely that he will ever see the North American major league again.
To be continued in Part 8....
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